Business was winding down when the robber holding a lighted Molotov cocktail walked into the Orlando fast-food restaurant and demanded cash, the assistant manager recalled Sunday.

''I had started getting it money for him and he let the thing just slip out of his hand,'' William Heflin said from his bed at Orlando Regional Medical Center. ''Everything went up in flames.''

The fire late Saturday engulfed the office of the Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken restaurant, 45 N. Orange Blossom Trail, causing $15,000 in damage.

Heflin, 28, was listed in serious condition Sunday with second-degree burns on his face, arms and legs. Neither he nor Orlando police were certain if the man escaped with any money.

Police said the man lit a fuse on the crude device -- a rag stuck in the top of a liquor bottle containing flammable liquid -- before walking into the restaurant shortly after 10:45 p.m. Saturday.

''It was a real quiet night,'' said Sharon Seagram, 31, one of seven employees working at the time. ''I had my back turned and I couldn't believe it when I turn around and see this guy walking in with that thing in his hand. It was scary.''

The man told the employees, ''Do not move or do not say anything. All I want is the money,'' Seagram said.

She said the man walked past the cash registers, behind the counter and ''straight to the office like he knew where he was going.'' There were no customers in the store at the time.

Heflin, who had been counting money in the office, said the man threatened to blow him up if he didn't hand over the cash.

The assistant manager said he had intended to comply with the demand when the bottle fell from the robber's hand and shattered on the floor.

Seagram said that after employees heard the bottle break and saw the fire, a co-worker told her and another woman to run. They sprinted out the front door to a telephone booth and saw the robber run outside and dart behind the building.

The man held something in his hand, but Seagram said she could not tell if it was money.

Heflin said he ran from the burning room and grabbed a fire extinguisher. Despite his injuries, Heflin said he was able to douse most of the flames before the Orlando Fire Department arrived.

Heflin's assailant was described as black, about 30 years old, 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 9, wearing blue jeans, a plaid shirt, a tan ski vest and a cap.

''I gave it my best after that bottle exploded,'' said Heflin, who has worked at the restaurant for less than a year.

Heflin's assailant was described as black, about 30 years old, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, wearing blue jeans, a plaid shirt, a tan ski vest and a cap.

Police had no suspects in the case Sunday. The restaurant reopened for business about 6 p.m. Sunday after undergoing repairs.